Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-11-22-Speech-1-031"
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"en.20101122.13.1-031"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have just had a request for everyone to quieten down a bit. Perhaps certain Members could comply with that request.
Ladies and gentlemen, my report today essentially concerns the performance of the European Central Bank in 2009 – in other words, during a period in which economic, financial and, increasingly, also political actions, were substantially dominated by the economic and financial crisis. The crisis, which started off as a purely financial crisis, spread, and also affected the entire real economy in a second wave. Economic activity diminished worldwide, while falling tax revenues and increasing welfare expenditure as a result of the crisis led to increasing public deficits. Further measures to stimulate the economy also contributed to the level of debt. As a result of these increased deficits, governments throughout the European Union passed extensive austerity packages. In my opinion, these packages were necessary and, in some cases, even overdue. However, they constrained the capacity of the governments to act.
Although economic activity began to recover in the second half of 2009, the financial and economic crisis then threatened to evolve into a public debt crisis in a third wave in 2010. In my view, this danger has not yet been averted. In recent days, we have been reminded all too clearly by the case of Ireland that the problem of over-indebtedness in the Member States has by no means been resolved, and I therefore also agree with President Van Rompuy: the failure of the euro is out of the question. That is the current situation, however. My report deals instead with 2009, about which we can say that the ECB reacted appropriately – even well, in fact – to the challenges. Its measures proved to be widely successful and kept many financial institutions from collapse. However, the financial institutions did not always pass on the liquidity in full to the real economy, with the result that the full recovery potential of these measures could not be exploited.
Since these measures involved extraordinary steps, it is now essential that the measures are lifted judiciously and with careful planning. The problems in Greece and other euro countries may be, in part, home-made, but they also brought to light fundamental problems that existed within the economic and monetary union. The principles of the Stability and Growth Pact were infringed. We are now living through the consequences, and that includes what is going on in Ireland. These infringements must now be removed and new infringements must be prevented. The Stability and Growth Pact needs to be strengthened, and the economic and monetary union needs to be more in balance.
In the past, insufficient coordination of economic policies within the monetary union allowed considerable economic imbalances to arise between the euro area countries and left the euro area without a predefined crisis management mechanism. The euro area will have to resolve these imbalances if it is to prevent a new crisis. In the final event, however, the structural reform process – combined with the revision of the regulatory framework for financial policy – may strengthen the euro area. The issue of the independence of the European Central Bank will also be a significant aspect of the new economic governance, particularly as regards the recently established European Systemic Risk Board. Consequently, Parliament will continue to take its duty to review the performance of the ECB very seriously.
I am absolutely convinced that the European Union and the euro area will find a way out of this crisis and could emerge from it even stronger than before. However, in the coming months, we need to learn the right lessons from what has happened. This is a major challenge, but in its history to date, the European Union has constantly demonstrated that it develops best when it has to overcome challenges. This crisis therefore also represents an opportunity that we should exploit.
In closing I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs from the other groups for their extremely pleasant and constructive cooperation on this report. It is not something that can be taken for granted, but it deserves particular emphasis in this case."@en1
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